


Rise of the Guardians: Fall of the Guardians

by SedofRan



Series: Time Trilogy (ROTG) [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Original Character(s), Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:57:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7602469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SedofRan/pseuds/SedofRan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of "Burning the Phoenix", the mythical gang believes that they are safe for some time while Jack recovers from Pitch's plan. All of the sudden, Pitch appears again with his own group named the Warriors, made up of scornful spirits who see the Guardians as just enemies standing in their way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What Was in the Last One

"Gentlemen," Pitch purred, striding across the dimly lit, near empty room. He clapped his hands together as he spun on his heel and sat down in the tall throne at the far end of the room. Shadowy figures lined the path that led up to it, sitting in their own seats as well. "I bid you all a warm welcome to my humble abode."

"Why have you called us here, Pitch?" one of the figures asked. "I have enough on my plate as is without having to be distracted by the likes of you."

"Now don't be that way." The shadow man pouted. "I have brought you all here to offer up a proposition."

"What are we talking about?" another figure asked. 

"My friends. My dear, dear friends," Pitch lifted his arms to them, "what gets everyone in this room down the most? I don't need to say it, but it is hatred and longing." There was a low murmur throughout the room as the others spoke out their own input to this. "We all long for something. To not be laughed at. To have respect. To be loved truly and entirely."

All were silent for the longest of time before one finally spoke up.

"How do you suppose we get that?" the voice asked. "I don't know if you have noticed lately, but we aren't exactly the group of the most loveable people. No one is ever going to look at us like... like that ever!"

"I know that. Do you think that I don't know that?" Pitch rose from his chair and made his way closer to them once more. "No one else but us understands that better than those that are in the room. Every time one of us tries to get somewhere in this life, we get shoved back down! Usually by the Man in the Moon or his minions, the Guardians!"

"No good, rotten brats," someone hissed. "They are just afraid of the world loving us more than them if we succeed."

"Precisely!" Pitch exclaimed "As long as they are around, we can never have our dreams come true!"

"What do you propose that we do? Even you were unable to beat them."

"One alone cannot beat five, but," Pitch paused for dramatic effect, "if we all come together and form our own group, then there is no way for them to defeat us."

"So what? Become the Guardian 2.0?"

"No. Of course not." Pitch smirked. "We shall be the Warriors, for we shall fight for our rights." Pitch strolled back up to his throne and sat down. "My friends, it is time for the fall of the Guardians." 

 

 _ **I came up with the idea for the sequel to "Burning the Phoenix" while doodling. I drew a character, added a name, and then the rest flowed right behind it. You will be seeing him, and the next chapter, soon.**_  


	2. Trii Korteet

“So Jack,” North clapped his hand on the back of the white haired boy, causing him to stumble slightly, “how you feeling?”

“A lot better now,” Jack stated with a smile. “Grandfather Time really got me up and rolling just like my old self.”

“Except you can’t fly yet.”

Jack smirked, nodding his head “Just until my body gets caught up with time again. Or whatever it was that he said.”

“And you are not allowed to leave unsupervised,” North stated next. “Also must stay in cold vhether.”

“Yeah. That too.” The smile had begun to fade from Jack’s face as he turned his gaze back up to the sky. Grey clouds covered the sky blue, threatening to crumble and fall to the earth in feathery snow at any second now. “He said that it won’t be long until I am going to be in tip-top shape again.”

“At least Pitch isn’t causing any trouble now.” North slapped him on the back once more. “Too afraid to fight us now that ve defeated him again.”

“Pitch? Afraid and cowardly.” Jack rolled his eyes. “That a total shocker.”

“Funny. I thought he was the embodiment of fear. He is the boo-oogieman.” The pair turned around to face a small child. He looked to be about the age of twelve or thirteen and was odd to say the least. Atop his messy black hair sat what appeared to be some sort of skull. Bright green eyes stared mischievously up at them, fluttering his long lashes as he did so. He waved his fingers in front of his face. “Oooooo~ Scary man.”

“Hey there, little guy.” Jack’s eyes flickered between the newcomer and North, who looked just as confused as he. “Are you lost?”

“Of course I know where I am! The north pole!” The kid smirked. “Just wanted to make sure that my name was still at the top of the naughty list.” He held out his hand, showing off his fanged tooth. “The name is Trii Korteet and I am the spirit of Halloween. Nice ta meet ya.”

North started to chuckle and reached out his hand to meet Trii’s. “Nice to meet you as ve-” North was cut off as their hands made contact and a burst of electricity raced through him. He immediately pulled away while the boy started laughing hysterically.

“Trick!” Trii shouted, lifting his hand to reveal a joy buzzer in his palm. “That’s a classic that never fails to please.” Trii shifted his eyes to Jack and held out his hand. “And who are you?”

Jack shook his head. “Nice try, but it is going to take a lot more than that to trick me, little guy.”

Trii looked downtrodden. “You’re right.” He lowered his right hand and held out the other. “Shall we try this again?” he asked hopefully.

“I don’t see why not.” Jack’s hand smacked into his, gripping it tightly and shaking it up and down. Trii’s face showed his obvious shock, causing Jack to chuckle lightheartedly. “You have quite a few years before you can pull something over me.” Jack released his grip and held up his hand to show the layer of ice coating it.

“That is so cool!” Trii clapped his hands together, the joy buzzers on each clacking as they hit each other. “You are exactly what I have heard you to be! I can’t wait for us to hang out and become best friends!”

“I’m sure that we will.” Jack sat down in the snow, which Trii did as well. “I always wondered what Halloween’s spirit would look like, but I never got a chance to see you since my season is after you get done… typically.”

“Well I never got a chance to meet you either, but I am glad that I did now.” Trii slapped his shoulder. “Hey. Do you want some candy?”

“Well I am a guardian, protector of the children of the world, and controller of ice and snow… So yeah. I would love some candy.”

“Sweet!” Trii reached behind him to dig into a pouch resting on his lower back that said “TREAT”. An identical pouch was right next to it that said “TRICK”. He pulled out some candy, popping one in his mouth and tossing another to Jack. He held out the final one to North. “Wunt une?”

“Is it safe?” North asked, quirking an eyebrow as he accepted the offered treat. He put it in his mouth without bothering to wait for an answer.

“It came from my treat bag, so it is absolutely safe.” Trii patted the bags. “I can pull candies and sometimes other cool things out of here and an assortment of pranking stuff from the other. Pretty cool, right?”

“Pranking stuff?” Jack repeated.

Trii smirked. “Unlimited pranking stuff.”

“Oh, Trii.” Jack slung an arm around his shoulder. “This is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

“Perhaps I just put names on permanent naughty list,” North muttered with a smile.

“Sounds like a plan to me. Perhaps you would be so kind as to put the rest of us on that while you are at it.”

Jack leapt to his feet at the sound, getting in a battle stance with North. “Why are you back so soon? I would have thought that you would have wanted to put more distance between your loses and failed attempts of revenge.”

“Oh you wound me, Jack.” Pitch clutched his heart. “After I worked so hard to save you and give you the life that you always wanted while your so-called ‘friends’ fought me and killed you!”

“It wasn’t like that!” Jack shouted, the ice under his feet growing thicker. “So what is with the entourage behind you? Couldn’t be bothered to fight us without backup?”

“Says a member of the illustrious Guardians. Where is your pack of children to help back you up?”

“Ooo~” Trii sung, climbing to his feet and brushing off the snow. “Nice one, Pitchy.” He ran up to the shadow man and patted him on the back.

“I see that you have already met one of our members already,” Pitch stated, gently pushing the boy away from him without giving him a second glance. “I was hoping to get all of you together, but you guys never seem to want to see each other at once anymore.” He raised his arms up dramatically. “You have your Guardians and I have my Warriors.”

“Varriros?” North repeated.

“No. No. No. Not ‘varriors’, Warriors,” Pitch stressed. “These good people joined up with me so that we can get what we really need most in this world. The one thing that you, the rest of the world, and the rest of your little group deny us over and over again.” Trii and others behind him nodded in agreement. “Let me introduce you to the Groundhog, Shamrook Oneily, Lei Ning, and you have already met Trii Korteet.”

“Otherwise known as Pitchy, Sir Digs-A-Lot, Lucky Charms, and Sparky.” Trii gestured to each person in turn. “Glad that we got all of the introductions out of the way.”

“Ay! I dunt accept that name,” Shamrook hissed, crossing his arms and glancing away from the younger, but not shorter, boy.

“No one did, but that doesn’t mean that I have to stop.”

“Enough, you two,” Pitch hissed. “We have more important things to do now.”

“Like leaving?”

Pitch rolled his eyes at Trii. “Frosty and jolly red man, you have now seen what you will be up against very soon. So be prepared, because we will do whatever it takes for us to reach our goals. Good-bye, my dear friends.” With a wave of his hands, shadows enveloped them and disappeared along with them.

“We need to get the guardians together,” Jack turned to face North, “now.”

 

**_I have included a sketch of Trii Korteet in a chibi form. I wanted to create something that was different from other versions created in other stories. Hope you all like it._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both the image and the actual story were things that I made a while ago, but had up on a different website (Wattpad).


	3. A Gift For You

"The Warriors?" Tooth quirked an eyebrow at the others. "Is it just me, or does that not sound like Pitch at all?"

"I wouldn't have thought that he would name his group something dark and sinister," Bunny stated with a shrug. The sand above Sandy's head formed a stamping horse. "Exactly! Name them after his little pets or something."

"It seems completely wrong, but it is true." Jack sat down on the top of one of the monitors surrounding the globe. "He and a few others were there and basically declared war on us."

"It was the Groundhog," Bunny groaned when North said this, "the leprechaun, the djinn of lightning, Pitch of course, and-"

"The spirit of Halloween, Trii Korteet," Jack interrupted. "Pitch is actually working with children now."

"Trii Korteet?" Tooth repeated. "I've heard of him, but I've never had the chance to meet him."

"short kid. Looks about twelve years old." Jack then smirked. "Great sense of humor."

"Great." Bunny rolled his eyes. "So we have another prankster on our hands now, do we?"

An image of five figures appeared above Sandy's head as he tugged on North's coat.

North sighed heavily. "Sandy is right. Ve need to get back onto topic."

Baby Tooth landed on Jack's shoulder. "Right. What are we going to do about these Warriors?" Jack asked, running a finger delicately over the top of Baby Tooth's head, causing her to coo in pleasure.

"It is bad enough that we have to deal with Pitch," Bunny hissed, "but now we have to deal with blokes like the Groundhog!"

"Aw. Does the kangaroo not like another giant rodent running around?" Jack teased. "Someone needs to learn how to play nice with others."

"Sod off."

Jack patted Bunny's head, as if he were a pet dog. "No way. What would your life be if I went around?"

Everyone became quiet and refused to even look in the snowy-haired boy's direction. Taking note of this, Jack's smile fell and a look of pure confusion took its place. "Okay. What is going on? You guys have been doing that since you came back from the past."

"it is nothing," Bunny muttered, staring down at his hand.

"It obviously is something." Jack flicked one of Bunny's ears, hoping to draw out a response from him. "I have almost died many other times before? You knew what he was trying to do when you went, so what happened that made you all like this?"

"It really isn't something ve vant to talk about, Jack," North stated.

Jack stared at him. "Guys?"

"Is this a bad time?"

The Guardians jumped at the voice, grabbing their weapons and spinning around to face the familiar shadow man. Pitch held up his hands in defense, smirking as he let his eyes trail over each of them.

"Worry not, dear friends," he cooed smoothly. "I am not here to fight, unless, of course, that is what you want."

"What are you here for, Pitch?" Bunny growled low in his throat.

Pitch opened his mouth to respond by was interrupted before he could even start.

"Pitchy and I are here ae here on a secret mission." Trii popped out from behind Pitch's robe. He grinned mischievously at the Guardians, missing the scowl on his leader's grey face. "That and I want to see Jacky again."

"I'm guessing that you are Trii Korteet." Tooth said, gazing at the wide eyed child.

"Sure am." Trii held out a hand innocently towards her. "And you are?"

North shook his head. "I suggest not shaking, Tooth."

Trii pouted. "Killjoy."

"That's enough, Korteet," Pitch stated smoothly. "We have hidden something for you, Jack. I do hope that you find it soon."

"You can't miss it!' Trii shouted enthusiastically, bouncing on his heels. "Once you find it, then you can come visit us!"

"Don't speak too much, Korteet." Pitch started to back up slowly. "You may do your 'thing' now."

Trii saluted. "Aye-Aye, captain Pitchy." Trii brought his hand up to the skull in his hair, pulling it down onto his face. As it traveled to there, it grew in order to fit him properly. Now only his eyes and a bit of his mouth were visible. "Smell ya all later." Trii reached into his "tricks" bag and pulled out two baggies shaped like grinning pumpkins. With a smirk, he smashed them onto the floor, sending out an explosion of smoke that left them all coughing.

"I've got this!" Tooth beat her wings, generating a small gust of wind that blew away the thin layer of smoke. Once she was able to see her companions again, Tooth sigh in exhaustion and fell into North's awaiting arms. "Are they gone?"

Jack glanced around. "Looks like it."

"What do you think they left?" Bunny asked, putting away his boomerangs.

Jack shrugged. "It could be anything."

"Vhere vould they hide it?" North asked.

Sandy created an image of Jack with his sand.

"Right. It has to be somewhere that they know Jack will find it, and not one of us, yet someplace that they know he will find it." Tooth glanced around the room, fluttering into the air gracefully. "Where would you put something like that, Jack?"

"Someplace high," Jack responded. "Since half of the Guardians can't fly." Jack followed Tooth into the air. He turned in a complete circle, his eyes scanning every crevice. Suddenly, something in a far corner of the ceiling caught his eye. "There it is!"

"Vhy vould he put there?" North asked as Jack flew up to the shadowed rafter. "He said can't miss."

"I wouldn't have missed it," Jack responded, floating down to the others with a parcel of black in his hands. "This is where I go to hide from Phil and the others when I prank them."

"What is it?" Bunny pointed at the box in Jack's hand.

"Early Christmas present?" Jack held the parcel up for all to see. It was wrapped nicely in black, shimmering paper and a bright orange ribbon tied it together. Small pumpkin charms hg from the bow, revealing who it was that wrapped it.

"Christmas present, ha!" North laughed. "Halloveen and Christmas? That be nightmare."

"S-Should I open it?" Jack tugged at one of the loose ends of the ribbon, though he did so gently, so as not to accidently open it before he got his answer.

"No way, Jack," Tooth cried out. "We can't trust them! Who knows what sort of trick they put in there to hurt you."

"I agree with tooth here, frostbite." Bunny patted him on the back. "Better just put it aside."

"And what? Leave it lying around the pole?" Jack shook his head. We have to do something with it." Jack placed it down under the globe for a second. "The more important question is what are we going to do with these Warriors."

"Pitch is obviously up to no good again," Bunny smirked and nudged Jack lightly with his elbow. "He seems to be up to you again. Maybe he has a crush."

Jack shivered. "Don't say that," he hissed, "ever!"

Tooth giggled into her hand. "He does have a point. Maybe Pitch does hold a flame for you."

"Gah!" Jack shouted, covering his ears. "Stop talking!"

"Joking aside," North said, once he got his own laughter under control. "Vhat are ve going to do?"

Sandy snapped his fingers, pointing up at the moving strands of gold above his head. They formed the image of the Guardians and Jack. Suddenly the rest of them disappeared leaving only Jack behind, though he wasn't alone for very long. Not a second later, other shapes appeared with Jack's sand figure.

"Are you serious, Sandy?" Tooth asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. "You think that Jack should join the Warriors?"

"I think you knocked a few screws loose." Bunny ruffled Sandy's hair, ruining the image above him.

"Vait. Vait. Vait." North tapped his stubby fingers on his chin in thought. "Sandy has point."

"He does?"

"yes!" North clapped his hands together. "It is good plan. I feel it in belly."

"What plan?" Jack asked in exasperation. "It sounds like you guys are trying to get rid of me."

"Jack, the Varriors are up to something and ve have to stop them," North started to explain as Sandy nodded his head in agreement. "Ve need an inside man."

"Pitch already tried to take me out more than once before," Jack stated. "What is to say that he won't do it again?"

"Pitch has team now. I don't know all of them, but Trii seems like good people. Pitch must do something to sway good heart."

"So because of that, you think he won't turn around and try to destroy me?" Jack snorted.

"Pitch has always wanted Jack to join him," Tooth muttered. "Maybe he would just jump at the chance."

"You guys can't be serious." Bunny rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to them, Jack. They are obviously just pulling your leg."

"No, Kangaroo, I don't think that they are." Bunny and Jack stared at the others. "Are you?"

"Jack," North said triumphantly. "I think it is time for you to join Pitch."


	4. Who's Ribcage?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I sorta abandoned this fic (posting wise). It has been on my Wattpad for so long that I didn't even think of it as life decided to punch me in the face for months. I am going to post all of the chapters today.

Pitch groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose a she sat on his dark throne. “Why couldn’t the spirit of Halloween be a skeleton or some pumpkin-head? Why am I stuck with a bratty child that seems adamant on trying my patience?” He moved his hands up to his temples, rubbing them furiously. “I hate children so.”

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. “Pitchy?” Trii called out as he cracked the door open. “Are you in here?”

Pitch forced a fond smile upon his face. “My dear boy, what can I do to help you?”

Trii swiftly strode over to Pitch’s throne. “I am bored,” he complained. “When is Jack going to come?”

“He will in due time, now that he knows the truth of what was.”

“Then will you play with me until he gets here?” Trii held up one of smiling pumpkin bags innocently.

Pitch refrained from rolling his eyes. “You know that I would, without a doubt, love to dedicate my entire day to making sure you are happy, but I am very busy at the moment.”

Trii pouted. “You aren’t busy. I bet you were napping before I came in here.”

“I most certainly was not,” he growled. “I am extremely busy, in fact, you must leave now.” Pitch started to lead Trii out of the room. “Go bother someone else with your childish whims.”

“But I just-”

Suddenly, the doors smashed open. “Hey,” Jack greeted with a smirk and a wave of his hand. “What’s up?”

“Jack?” both Trii and Pitch said at the same time. A grin broke out across Trii’s face.

“Jack!” He flung himself at the older boy, wrapping his arms around him. “Now we can play!”

“Not so fast, Korteet.” Pitch crossed his arms over his chest. “I have a few questions for Jack.”

“Fire away, Pitch.” Jack patted Trii gently on the head, ruffling his hair. “What do you need to know?”

“Why are you here?”

“I got that gift that you left me, in the rafters.” Jack bit his lip. “I didn’t know. T-Thank you for showing me the truth.”

Pitch nodded his head in approval of his answers. “What is it that you hope to accomplish by joining our ranks?”

Jack narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “I want to take down the Guardians.”

The shadow man clapped his hands together. “Good. Good.” He then patted Trii on the head. “Now you two may run off. We have much to do later, so take the time no0w to get better acquainted.”

“If the boss man commands.” Trii started to push Jack out of the room. “Let’s go! I wanna show you someone!”

The pair had barely gotten the door shut when there was a loud bang from inside the room, followed by a “Korteet!”. Said person covered his mouth with his hands as he erupted into chuckles.

“What did you do?” Jack asked as they dashed down the hall.

Trii smirked. “I put one of my pumpkin-paintballs in his seat. He sat without looking and…  _boom_.”

“I only have one question for you, mister,” Jack stated with a smirk. “What color?”

“Gold.”

“Sweet.”

“Korteet!” Pitch screamed from behind them. “When I get my hands on you-”

*******************

“So what is it that you wanted to show me?” Jack asked, sitting down across from Trii, who was rummaging through a trunk in his room. It was narrow and rather dark, being located in the “attic” of the castle. There was only one small window and it was about seven feet above their heads.

“I want to show you my very best friend.” Getting behind the old trunk, Trii tipped it over. A barrage of bones scattered across the floor, causing Jack to scoot away from it in a rush.

“What the-”

“Jack,” Trii interrupted, “meet Ribcage.” Before Jack could say another word, the bones started to shake. In a split second, they flew into the air and started to form something.

A tall creature, that nearly resembled a horse, stood above Jack. Red flames erupted from it’s nostrils with each breath that it took. Those same flames ran through it’s body, connecting the bones together. Jack held his breath as the creature stared him down.

“Ribcage, this is Jack,” Trii introduced as he patted Ribcage on the head. “Say ‘hello’.”

Suddenly, the flames turned blue and Ribcage smiled. He dragged a bone, which Jack could only assume was supposed to be his tongue, up the side of Jack’s face. Ribcage then silently crouched low and wagged it’s long tail, looking more like a large dog now.

“He is made up of parts that I have found each Halloween,” Trii explained as he pulled out one of Ribcage’s ribs and tossed it. Ribcage immediately chased after it, bringing it back so that the action could be repeated over and over again. “I have added one piece to him each year.”

“Impressive.” Jack patted his lap. Ribcage, seeing this, clambered over to him. Jack ran his hands over the skull, scratching behind it’s ears. “So does he almost get along with others this well?”

Trii chuckled as he sat down next to Jack. “Actually, you are the first person to meet him.”

“Really?” Jack quirked an eyebrow and stilled his hand. Seeing that Jack was no longer petting him, Ribcage moved his skull to Trii’s loving hands. “Not even your other friends?”

“I didn’t really have any other friends,” Trii admitted, his smile fading. “While kids love my holiday, they all think that I am scary. To them, I appear as their worst fear and they all take off running. Other mythical people never really liked being around me either, so it has just been Ribcage and me.” Trii wrapped his arms around Ribcage’s head, holding it tightly to his chest.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be.” Trii grinned up at him. “Now I have lots of friends. I have Pitchy, Sir Digs-A-Lot, Lucky Charms, Sparky, and you, Frosty.”

Jack smiled fondly. “You sure do.” He ruffled Trii’s hair. “You know, I was a lot like you before.”

“Really?”

“You bet. Only kids couldn’t see me.” Jack held out his hand, snowflakes forming and dancing delicately as they fell to the floor and evaporated. “I use to be all by myself. I had no family, no friends that could see me, and no memories if a time when I did.”

“So what did you do?” Trii asked. Even Ribcage had lifted his head to stare at Jack, seeming to be listening as well.

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the door opening.

Shamrook flicked his fedora up so that he could see the par better. “Ay. Pitch is calling ye. He wants to go ova… thee plan.”


	5. Weeding Out The Rat

“Warriors, my dear friends, the time is drawing near,” Pitch said smoothly, holding out his arms wide to them as he sat down in his throne. “With our final member, Jack Frost, we are ready to move on to the next phase in the master plan.”

“Is that my big part?” Trii asked, shaking his hand in the air above him. Pitch rolled his eyes at him.

“No, Korteet. That part is after this one.”

Trii put down his hand slowly, feeling a little dejected. Jack, who stood next to him, nudged him gently, offering him a small smile.

“I’m wit the wee lad, Pitch,” Shamrook interjected. “I thought getting that  _is_  the next step.”

“I added one biased on certain circumstance s that appeared,” Pitch explain. He waved a hand, drawing force his shadows. They formed the shape of the Santoff Claussen (North’s workshop). “There is an item in here that is needed. In the room behind his Globe Room, there is a machine that sends power to his entire workshop. That machine is powered by a red gem. I want Jack and Trii to retrieve it.”

“Why us?” Jack asked, drawing the other’s attentions.

“You obviously because you know the layout of the workshop better than anyone else in this room, and Trii because he is much better at sneaking around and he needs practice for the next phase.”

“What is the next phase exactly” Jack asked, stepping forward.

Pitch smirked. “Sorry, Frost, but there is no time to waste. I am sure that Korteet will fill you in on your way, but you really must be getting going now.” Pitch stood up from his throne. “You are all dismissed.”

“What was the point in calling all of us in here if it was only for that?” Shamrook hissed. The others silently nodded in agreement.

“We are a team, which means that we all need to be able to know every single step or action that we take.” Pitch walked up to Trii and patted him on the head lightly. “It is time for you two to head off.”

“I hear you loud and clear, Pitchy! Trii saluted. “Come on, Frosty.” Trii wrapped both hands around his arm, tugging him out the door. Shamrook and Lei Ning followed swiftly behind.

“What are you planning?”

Pitch turned to face the speaker, surprised that the Groundhog wasn’t one of the first ones out the door. “I don’t know what you are talking about. You heard clearly what I was planning.”

“Don’t lie to me, Pitch. You are already walking a thin line with me,” Groundhog hissed. “There is no need to send those two out like that, especially when we are so close to raiding the temple. So, if you don’t mind, tell me what you think that you will accomplish by doing this.”

Pitch smirked and began to walk away. “Simple,” he responded, “I need to weed out a rat and Trii needs reassured of who his true friends are.”

**********

“Trii! Slow down!” Jack shouted as the boy tugged harder and harder on his arm.

“No can do, Frosty. This is my first mission with you!” Trii giggled. “I’m so excited!” Trii barged into his room, kicking the door open as he did so.  “Ribcage!” he shouted. “Trip!”

In a split second, the bone creature was in front of them, hopping around excitedly. A sea of dust swirled around the room from his tail wagging behind him. Trii patted him on the toothy muzzle before hopping onto his back.

“Let’s go.” Trii kicked his heels gently into Ribcage’s side, prompting the creature to race forward, out of the room.

“Trii!” Jack shouted, dashing after him. He and Trii, riding Ribcage, zoomed through the castle, dodging furniture, people, and Pitch’s shadows as they went. Trii’s merry laughter filled the air as they went, nearly drowning out the sound of Ribcage’s clomping steps.

“Better speed up, Frosty!” Trii shouted back to him. “You don’t want me to utterly crush you into the dust now, do you?”

Jack smirked. “As if you could.” Exiting the castle, Jack took to the air while Trii and Ribcage remained grounded.

“No fair!” Trii shouted. “Go faster, Ribcage.”

Ribcage let out a high pitched roar as his flames intensified, though seeming to not burn Trii in the least. Ribcage sped up tremendously, trailing right underneath Jack as he rode the wind.

Jack shook his head. “What am I doing? Trii!” he shouted to the boy, getting lower to the ground so as to communicate better. “What is the next step?”

“Don’t worry. You aren’t really part of it.” Trii stated. “I have the most important part of the phase, so don’t worry about it.”

“But what are you going to be doing?” Jack asked again.

Trii quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why do you care so much? I’ll do my part just fine.”

“I care because we are friends. I want to know what sort of thing that I am getting myself into.” Jack bit his bottom lip. “Friends tell each other things.”

“I suppose they do,” Trii agreed, somewhat hesitantly. “Because of my skills, Pitchy chose e to be the one of sneak into the Temple of Time and get some Eternity item”

“Pitch is going after more of Tai M. Keeper’s items again?” Jack scoffed. “Messing with time is a dangerous plan.”

“But it is necessary if we ever want to get our wish,” Trii insisted. “Besides, if he hadn’t faced the flow of time before, then you would still be with those Guardians without ever knowing what they did to you.”

Jack barely managed to bite his tongue before he could ask Trii what he meant. Hoping that Trii had not noticed any change in his demeanor, Jack flew a bit higher. The scene around them was beginning to get much icier, meaning that they were drawing near to their destination. With every step that Ribcage took, he sent up a barrage of frost and shaved ice in his wake as he shot across the tundra like a bullet.

“There it is!” Trii shouted up to him, pointing towards the familiar building on the horizon.

Jack took in a deep breath before releasing it in a heavy sigh. “Sorry guys,” he muttered under his breath as he went to do Pitch’s dirty work.


	6. Betrayed

“Looks like everyone is asleep,” Jack whispered as he and Trii crept through the hallway.

“Except for that yeti that you froze!” Trii laughed. “That was awesome.”

Jack scratched his head nervously. “That would be Phil and he will not be happy with me s

“What does it matter?” Trii patted him on the back. “You aren’t with them anymore. Now you are on the good side; with us.”

“Y-Yeah.” Jack forced a smile upon his face. “So how did Pitch win you over?”

Trii shrugged. “One day, one of his nightmares tracked me down and gave me an invitation to come to his castle. Before then, I had never even seen Pitch. Then there he was. A fellow lost soul, trying desperately to get the one thing that we all strive for.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“The same thing that you wanted,” the younger boy explained. “To be loved.”

“Are you sure that is what Pitch really wants?” Jack inquired, entering the Globe Room. “Are you sure that his intentions are good?”

Trii chuckled hollowly. “Of course. He may look like the bad guy on the outside, but on the inside, he just wants the love and affection of children everywhere”

Jack snorted. “How can you love the Boogeyman?” he muttered under his breath.

Trii froze, mid-step. “The same way that you can love a giant rabbit or a fairy that takes your teeth. The same way that one would love anyone.” Trii crossed his arms over his chest. “He didn’t choose to be the Boogeyman, just like you didn’t choose to be Jack Frost. We were doomed from the start of our second lives to be alone just because of what the Man on the Moon decided. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. I love making people happy and giving out tricks and treats, but I don’t like being seen as scary and then left to rot.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Trii. I just…” Jack sighed, running a hand through his bangs. “I’m sorry. Let’s get this thing already.”

“Okay,” Trii whispered back, following Jack once more. Seeing that the boy’s mood was not returning to its once elated high, Jack stopped and put his hands on Trii’s shoulders, kneeling down to look him in the eyes.

“Don’t take what I said to heart, Trii,” Jack said. “There were people who once said the same thing about me. They saw me as nothing more than a nuisance and now look at me! I have people who can see me, believe in me, and I have some pretty great friends. There is no doubt in my mind that you can have that too.”

Trii grinned. “Thanks, Jack. Coming from you, I know that everything will be alright in the end.” The spirit of Halloween then smirked. “Do you think that we could set up some booby-traps around here? I can set something up to superglue feathers to the yetis and elves.”

The image of such a sight flashed through Jack’s mind, causing him to cover his mouth in order to contain his growing laughter. Perhaps, after all of this mess was over, he and Trii could meet up for some serious pranking. That is… if Trii ever wanted to see him again after the truth was revealed.

“Shhhh.” Jack held a finger up to his pale lips. “We just need to get it and get out. Then we can meet up with the others.”

Trii nodded and pretended to zip and throw away the key to his lips. Smiling, Jack turned away from him and continued to tip toe across the dim room. Trii was right about to follow after the older boy when something caught his attention, causing his heart to plummet into his stomache.

“There it is, Trii.” Jack turned his head to peer at Trii, a bright smile gracing his features. The smile instantly fell at the sight of the boy holding a small black box with orange trimmings. Trii stared up at him, confusion, and something else, evident in his face.

“You never opened it,” he whispered, shaking his head. “If you never saw it, then why did you…” Trii let himself trail off, his eyes widening and becoming moist with fresh tears as his lips pursed.

“Trii,” Jack said as he took a step towards him, “It’s not what you think.”

“I think it’s exactly what I think!” Trii shouted. Jack flinched at the volume. “You lied to us; to me! You didn’t join us because you wanted the same thing. You are just like the rest of those Guardians! I trusted you!”

“Trii.” Jack bit his lip. “You don’t understand.”

“No. I understand perfectly.” Trii glanced down at the box in his hands, his face twisting into a scowl. He suddenly lifted it above his head, tugging on the ribbon. “Take your stupid truth and stay away from me!” He threw the box, it’s ribbon and lid coming off as it flew through the air.

Jack lifted his hands on reflex, catching the parcel before it could crash into his face. Suddenly, the world tilted to the left and he felt himself fall to the ground. The last thing he saw was Trii’s retreating back before everything went dark.


	7. A Memory Best Forgotten

"W-Where am I?" Jack moaned as he got up from where he lay in a thin snow bank. He rubbed his aching head as he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of forest it looked familiar, but he couldn't place where it was exactly.

"How cruel," a voice cut through the trees. Jack instantly recognized it as Pitch and his muscles tensed. "You are just going to sit there and let the boy drown like that? And here I thought that you guys were protectors."

 "Pitch!" This new voice was definitely Bunny's. "You won't get Jack. We will stop you before you can even think of hurting him."

"Hurting him?" Pitch repeated with a laugh "You might want to get those big ears of yours checked, Bunnymund. I have told you over and over again that I wish no harm upon Jack."

"Like we would ever believe you," Tooth's voice hissed.  "Stay back or I'll knock out a few more of your teeth."

"I cannot stay back." Pitch stated calmly as Jack crept closer to the sound of their voices. "I am here not to harm Jack, but to save him."

"Save him/" Bunny responded. "I'm sure that you came back in time just to  _save_  Jack. Sure."

Jack bit his lip as everything went quiet. No one spoke a word, causing him to freeze in his spot, seeing as he was following their voices.

 "That's it," North's voice muttered. "You do want to save Jack."

"Don't tell me that you are falling for this, North. There is no way that he means it."

"Oh but I do, rabbit," Pitch said smoothly/ "It seems that at least one of you understands what is going on."

"Then explain it to the rest of us!" Tooth shouted. "Let us hear your great plan!"

"You know nothing about Jack," Pitch retorted. "Do you know why he was chosen? Because he sacrificed his life for the life of a child; for the life of his dear little sister." Jack could tell that he was close now. Just a few feet and he would be able to see them all. "If dying caused Jack Frost to be chosen..."

"Then saving him with make Jack Frost disappear," Tooth muttered in shock. Jack froze mid-step at this. "But that means-"

"That means that the only way for you to save dear Jackie-boy," Pitch interrupted, "would be to make sure that he dies."

 "No way." Bunny shouted. "You are lying! Tai wouldn't have sent us back to kill Jack! We would never hurt him!"

"If you are so sure about that, then take the chance," Pitch said. Jack started to move again, shaking off the shock of what Pitch had just said. "Go ahead and save him."

"Oh man-in-moon," Tooth groaned. "We have to... oh I think I am going to be sick." By now, Jack had made it to the edge of the trees surrounding a lake. He peered out from behind one of them, choosing to watch the situation before jumping in, for once.

"Go ahead and save him. Drag Jack out of the cold hands of death. Save him and let that Jack die before he ever has a chance to live." Pitch crept closer to the guardians. "Do you really want to have his blood on your hands? How will you ever be able to look at him again, knowing that you could have saved him? That you could have allowed him to keep his memories, stay with his family, grow old, find love, and have a place to belong? Can you really take that from him, guardians? Can you?"

"We can't kill Jack," Tooth moaned. "We can't do it. We can't."

"Then don't." Pitch suddenly slammed his scythe down into the earth, using it to pole-vault over the guardians. Once he was over them, he let his scythe dissolve into a mass of black sand, which soared back in front of him. "Here I come to save the day!"

"No!" North threw his swords at Pitch, who faltered in his sprint for only a second in order to knock the volatile weapons to the side. "You von't touch Jack!"

"How can we do this?" Tooth asked, more to herself than to anyone else. She wrapped her arms around her thin form as hysteria began to set in. "How can we possibly kill Jack?"

"Tooth," the fairy glanced up at North, who held his hand out to her. "Ve have to do this."

"But-"

"But Jack is in pain right now because he is disappearing. Do you think that that is right?" Tooth shook her head. "Think. If there is no Jack Frost, then there will be no one to help stop Pitch. He vill vin and many vill perish. Do you think that Jack vants that?"

"Of course not-"

"Then you know vhat ve have to do, even if it kills us inside." North glance over his shoulder at Bunny, sparing a split second to check on the fight between Sandy and Pitch. "You too, Bunny."

Bunny did not respond.

"You're right." Tooth wiped away her tears and rose to her feet, with the aid of North. "Let's go protect future Jack."

"That's the spirit!" North laughed boastfully, though it seemed a bit hollow to Tooth. The pair ran towards the fight, leaving only Bunny behind.

Jack shook his head. No... They wouldn't do this to him. "Hey guys!" he shouted, running to Bunny. He tried to touch the rabbit's shoulder, but found that his hand just passed right through it. "What that-"

"You won't stop me!" Pitch shouted, swinging his scythe in a circle above his head. "I will save him and Jack Frost will be no more."

"Never!" North picked up his swords and charged at the shadow man. He swung them towards his head, which was immediately blocked by his scythe once more. Pitch tried to back up as he blocked the onslaught of attacks, inching closer and closer to the spot in the ice where a boy was struggling to get free of the water. Jack's breath got caught in his throat when he realized just  _who_  that was.

"I don't have time for this!" Pitch hissed, shoving Tooth to the side when she charged at him from the sky. "And neither does he." With that being said, he kicked North back and slashed through the dream sand that tried to envelope him. "I'll save him even if it is the last thing I do!" Pitch made a mad dash for the sinking pale hand of Jack.

"Hold it!' North screamed, throwing his swords at the man once again. Pitch jumped over the first one and turned midair in order to strike the second away. He smirked and sent a wink at them before he noticed golden tendrils surrounding him.

"No!" he shouted, grasping at the bars of his golden prison. "You won't stop me!" Pitch summoned his scythe and began slashing at the cage. Each time he destroyed a part of it, the sand would just reform almost instantly.

Sandy waved his hand to the others, showing that he could handle pitch. He stayed by the floating cage's side, holding his hands up towards it as he controlled the sand to keep the man trapped. North and Tooth stood there, watching as the shadow man writhed inside it, screaming profanities towards them as he did so.

"Well," Tooth muttered as she clasped her hands together, "I guess that this is the end of this crazy adventure. Right gu-"

Tooth was interrupted as a blur of gray darted past them. Both unoccupied guardians turned to see Bunny leaning over the whole in the ice, reaching for the flailing hand.

"Bunny!" North shouted, dashing towards him. "Stop!"

"Hold on, Jack!" Bunny shouted, grasping the hand. "I'll get you out in just a second. Just hold on!"

"Yes!" Jack cheered.

"Bunny! No!" Tooth latched onto Bunny's back. "Don't, Bunny!"

"I can't let him die like this!" Bunny shouted back as he fought against North's hold on his arm, which prevented him from pulling Jack out of the water. "I can't let Jack die alone like this!"

"You have to let go, Bunny," Tooth cried, burying her face into his back fur. "We have to let this happen. We have to let him go. Please. For the Jack that we know."

Jack shook his head. "No way," he muttered. They couldn't seriously be able to let him die. They all knew that pain that he had to go through for so long. The horrible loneliness that he had to endure until the guardians finally sought him out to stop Pitch. They weren't going to rip him away from the chance of having a normal life with a family that loved him, were they? No. There was no way that Bunny would let go of his hand.

Bunny sniffed as he held in his tears.

Bunny would never let go of him like that.

Tooth continued to cry into the fur on his back as Sandy looked away from the sight in favor of watching Pitch.

Bunny would do that right thing and save him.

North stared at the pair, his large eyes filled to the brim with tears that he tried his hardest to keep at bay. His lower lip trembled so much that he bit it to hold it still.

Any second now, Bunny was going to pull him out of that freezing water and save him. Jace was sure of it.

Jack's heart plummeted when the Guardian of Hope let go and watched as the pale hand disappeared.

There was a loud suction sound as everything went dark again and Jack found himself flying through what felt like a void. Suddenly, everything stopped and he was once again in the globe room, surrounded by his friends. 


	8. What Did We Do?

"Jack?" Tooth said worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Vhat do, Jack?" North picked up the empty box. "I thought that ve agreed not to open."

"What are you even doing here, Jack? I thought you were supposed to stay with Pitch and his warriors." Bunny's eyes grew wide. "Did you find something out? Did they find you out?"

Jack didn't say a thing, nor did he move a muscle. He just continued to stare up at them, his expression unreadable.

After so long in awkward silence, Tooth's eyebrows scrunched together and she reached down to gently touch Jack's shoulder. "Jack? Are you alright?"

Jack jerked himself away from her touch, causing her to jump in surprise. "Don't touch me," he hissed. "How could you do that to me?"

"Vhat are you talking bout, Jack?" North asked. "Vhat did ve do to you?"

"You know what you did!" Jack leapt to his feet and backed away from them quickly. "I saw... I saw that memory of me drowning, but it wasn't the same anymore. You were there... and Pitch was... and then you..."

Tooth covered her mouth with a gasp. "No, Jack," she whimpered. "You don't understand. We went back in time to save you, but you wouldn't be you if the events of the past changed."

"That's what you did?" The room temperature sharply dropped. "So those looks you gave me after that incident was because of this? Because you murdered me?"

"Now hold it right there!" Bunny shouted. "We did not murder you. We saved you."

"You let me drown!" Frost coated the floor and walls of the Globe room now. "You all knew about the pain that I had to go through for nearly my entire afterlife! You all knew how much I wanted to have a family; my family! I had a chance to have that and be happy, and then you all just took it away from me!"

"Think about this for more than a second!" Bunny responded, fur bristling. "If that hadn't have happened, then Jack Frost never would have been. If we didn't have you with us, then Pitch would have taken over and the world would have been cast into eternal darkness!"

"Someone else would have been chosen to help," jack snorted back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Man in Moon wouldn't have just let Pitch win. He would have found another way, another person, another Jack Frost."

"Jack, no." Tooth reached out a hand to Jack once again, as if to draw him near, even though she could not reach him. "We were just trying to do what was best for you; for everyone. It killed us to do that, you have to understand."

Jack scowled, a tear coming to his eye. "Yeah. Well it killed me more." With that being said, Jack pushed off the ground, the ice under him cracking loudly as he took off out a window and into the grey sky.

"Jack!" Tooth shouted, taking flight as well. "Come back!"

"Stop, Tooth!" North shouted her, grasping her by her thin waist before she could take pursuit "Snowstorm is coming. You go out and you freeze to death."

"We can't just let him run off like that!" Bunny insisted. "If we let him go, we may never see him again."

"Tooth can't go out," North responded. "Vings freeze and pop right off."

"I'll go then," Bunny volunteered. "My fur will protect me enough to get that bugger and drag him back."

"Go quickly, Bunny," North advised. "Pitch has hand in this and must be up to no good."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Bunny tapped the floor with his foot, falling through the entrance of the tunnel that had formed there.

******

Jack curled into himself, wrapping his arms around his knees as the snow picked up. He wasn't cold, for such a thing would be simply laughable, especially since he was the one making this snow, but he felt that he needed comfort from someone... even if it was just from himself.

"How could they?" he muttered to himself. "They all knew and yet they-"

"Jack!"

The guardian of fun lifted his head, peering through the shifting wall of white to see a grey blob dashing towards him. Scowling in recognition, Jack looked away. "Go away, Bunnymund. I am done talking to you people."

"Jack!" Bunny shouted over the roaring storm around Jack. "I know what we did may seem wrong, and it might even have been the wrong move, but it was what we thought was the right things to do. It wasn't just a split-second decision that we took lightly!"

"Well you made the wrong choice!"

"Try to understand, Jack!" Bunny tried to push himself through the raging snowfall, nearly toppling over as it clumped on his fur. "It was the hardest thing that we ever had to do! The reason that we never told you about it is because we couldn't. We couldn't put to words what we had done. We couldn't bear to relive it again!" Bunny stumbled back for a second before attempting to plow through again.

"You have to understand," Bunny continued. "We wanted to give you what you always wanted. None of us wanted to bring you pain or have to see you die, but we had to think about, not just you or us, but Jamie and the rest of the children of the world."

Jack bit his lower lip, looking away from Bunny's form, which was still fighting through the small blizzard.

"If you were not around, what would have happened to Jamie and his friends? Pitch would have cloaked the world in darkness and sent them into eternal nightmares."

Jack shook his head. "Someone would have stopped him," he assured. "There would have been another Jack Frost chosen."

"No there wouldn't and you know that!" Bunny was now only a few feet away from him. "You are the only Jack Frost and you will always be the only Jack Frost. No one could replace you, which is why we need you, Jack. Only you. The same would be for any one of us."

Suddenly, the white veil fell, clearing Bunny's vision. Locking his eyes on Jack's form, he swiftly made his way over to him. He fell to his knees and grasped Jack's shoulders tightly in his paws. "You need to understand our reasoning, Jack. It hurt. It hurt us all so bad to do it. I felt like I left my heart in that lake when I had to let go of your hand."

"I know,' Jack whispered. "I would have done that same thing if I were in your position then. I...It will just take me time to get over seeing that."

Bunny smiled slightly. "None of us will ever really get over seeing that. I think the sight of your hand sinking below the surface will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life." Bunny stood up, shivering in the frosty air. "How about we head back to North's? They must be worried sick and I'm about to lose my tail out here."

Jack smirked. "I think that it feels great out here."

"Shut it, ya show pony." Bunny sneezed, scrunching up his nose as he tried to resist the urge to do it again. "Let's go, Jack. We need to talk this over with the others before we can worry about Pitch and his plans."

"Oh yeah!" Jack rushed to his feet, kicking up a cloud of loose flakes as he did so. "Pitch ants Trii to steal something from the Temple of Time... some... ' _Eternity'_  item."

Bunny froze, foot half raised to create a tunnel. He stared at Jack with wide eyes. "We need to get to the others now," he said, "and we need to stop that kid before he kills himself."

 

 


	9. A Truly Pitchy Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the next story in this series done, but it does have a lot of Trii Korteet in it. It would be great if I could get some reader's opinions on him. Please leave a comment telling me your thoughts on his character.

"So this is the Temple of Time?" Trii asked, staring up at the place in wonder. Pitch stood just a few feet behind him and Ribcage, rolling his eyes at the boy.

"Yes. Yes. It's grand, isn't it?" Pitch lightly began to push Trii towards the entrance. "Remember to only grab the Eternia Glass. Just get in and get out, got it?"

Trii nodded his head. "I understand," he whispered, biting his lower lip.

Pitch quirked a brow at him. "Are you still unnerved by Jack Frost's betrayal? It was hard for all of us. I had really thought that he had seen the light and turned a new leaf, but it appears that I was wrong."

"He just seemed so nice," Trii said, glancing up at Pitch with wide eyes glistening with fresh tears. "How could he have done that to us?"

"It is because we were wrong about Jack the whole time. He was once like us but now that he is a part of the guardians, he doesn't care about his roots." Pitch patted the boy on the back gently. "He has the power, love, and respect that he wanted, so why would he want to waste his time helping out those who he thinks are beneath him?"

Trii nibbled on his lip, being mindful of his sharp teeth as he did so. "I don't know if I can do this, Pitch," he muttered, gesturing towards the Temple. "What if something goes wrong? He could make it so that I was never born."

" _Wouldn't that be a shame_ ," Pitch muttered under his breath before forcing a friendly smile upon his face. "Look, Trii, I wouldn't be asking you to do this if there was any other way. The Warriors and I believe in you."

Trii didn't say a thing.

Pitch smirked. "Think about Frost and his betrayal. He crushed all of our hearts just for the sake of helping his fellow Guardians to crush our dreams. He would be stopping you right now, if he were here. If it wasn't for your keen eyes, he may have been here instead of me, telling you not to even bother taking the risk for your future; for all of our futures."

Trii scowled, hopping off of Ribcage. "I'll do it," he promised. "Come on, Ribcage."

"Perhaps that...  _Ribcage_... should wait out here. He would draw too much attention and this calls for a sneaky one-man job."

"I guess." Trii patted Ribcage's bone muzzle. "You stay out here with Pitch and wait for me. I will be right out." Ribcage huffed, blue flames coming out of his nostrils as he showed his distain at the idea of leaving Trii's side like that, but he otherwise did nothing to stop him. "Good boy."

"You better hurry, Trii," Pitch suggested. "Who knows how long we have before the Guardians catch wind of what we are doing and come to stop us."

"I won't let them stop me, especially Jack Frost," Trii promised as he strode towards the entrance of the temple. As quiet as a mouse, he pushed the large ordinate doors open just enough to slip through before shutting it tightly behind him.

Pitch smirked. "Perfect."

*************

Everything was silent instead, save for the ticking of the many clocks. Trii tried his best to stay focused on his mission, but he soon found himself getting distracted by the many different mirrors and clocks scattered about the pace. Though, after catching sight of himself in one of the mirrors, he shied away from them and instead chose to stare at the floor in front of him.

"Get the thing. Then get out. Get the thing. Then get out," he chanted over and over again under his breath as he continued to creep through the halls, peeking through doors tenderly, so as to avoid detection. "Get the thing. Then get out."

_Creak._

Trii froze, his entire body tensing at the sound behind him. Slowly turning around he eyed the door at the far end of the hallway he had just passed over as it slowly creaked open.

*****************

"Pitch!" Jack shouted, catching sight of the dark man by the Temple of Time entrance. He prepared to land in front of him, but was stopped by Ribcage as the creature bounded towards him, red flames bursting from his body. "Whoa!"

"I don't suggest getting near, Frost," Pitch said smoothly, picking at some dirt under his nails. "That beast isn't too happy about what you did to Korteet."

"Where is he?" Jack asked. He heard the jingling sound of bells behind him as North landed the sleigh. "Did you already send him in?"

Pitch smirked. "So what if I did. That is his mission, after all."

"Are you dense, ya bumbe?" Bunny leapt out of the sleigh, taking a second to steady himself on solid ground before bounding over to Pitch. "If he touches the Eternia Glass, he could very well disappear."

"Oh?" Pitch questioned. "Is that so?"

Jack scowled. "You  _knew_ , didn't you?"

"If you know," North stated, pointing at Pitch, "then vhy send one of your Varriors after it?"

"I sent him in because he is expendable," Pitch explained. "I would have thought that  _that_ was obvious. I don't care what happens to Korteet as long as everything else went exactly as planned, and it did."

Ribcage stopped hissing at Jack and turned to stare at Pitch. His flames simmered down and turned a yellow color. Jack landed on the ground and brushed the back of the creature's neck gently with his hand, soothing him.

"What are your Warriors going to think of you when they find out that you led Trii to his death," Jack inquired. "I don't think that they are going to that this and keep following you."

"But it wasn't my fault!" Pitch insisted, clasping his hands together in front of him and putting on the most pitiful expression he could. "Jack betrayed us. After a bit of research, I deemed the mission to be too risky and deadly for poor Trii to even think of attempting, but when he was alone with Jack, that frosty neanderthal convinced Trii to do it. Jack lied to us all and sent Trii to his death just to cut down on our numbers!"

Jack's face twisted into a deeper scowl. "So you never planned for me to actually join you? You left that 'present' for me just so I would infiltrate your numbers and you could pull this?"

"You played your part perfectly, Frost." Pitch clapped his hands together. "I knew that there was little to no chance of you actually opening the box, and an even smaller chance of you  _not_ taking the opportunity to mix yourself in with my Warriors. Once you showed up, I just had to read my lines and send you and Trii to the Pole so that he could expose your lie."

"Then why did you show me that memory?"

"Because it was fun." Pitch rolled his eyes. "It also stirred up trouble with you Guardians and gave me plenty of time to push Korteet over the edge to get him to agree to do this."

Ribcage roared, bucking Jack's hand away as jets of red flames shot up from his bones. He charged at Pitch, lowering his head as he prepared to strike the man with it.

Pitch smirked at the sight. "The beast seems angry about what I planned." At the last second of the charge, Pitch twisted to the side, slamming his shadow scythe down on Ribcage's back. Ribcage crashed into the ground and had no time to react before he was restrained by more shadows. Hot flames burned brightly, but it wasn't able to reach Pitch. "I can't have you doing anything to jeopardize my plans. Luckily, I know just he trick to make you silent; permanently."

Pitch reached down, grasping a small fragment of a bone from the center of Ribcage's chest. Ribcage spasmed for a few seconds as it pulled it out before falling completely still. In a matter of second, Ribcage's flames had gone out and he was nothing more than a pile of bones lying on the ground.

"What did you do?" Tooth shouted, unable to tear her eyes away from what once was Ribcage.

Pitch tossed the piece of bone up and down in his hand before sliding it into a pocket. "You can learn a lot from someone by living with them; especially if that someone believes that you can be trusted. I just removed the first piece ever used on that beast, meaning that the rest of his bones are now as useless as, well... a pile of bones."

"Ve von't let you get away with this!" North shouted, his face turning red.

"Like you can stop me? You may have wrecked my plans last time, but not this." Pitch pointed back at the temple. "Trii is going to touch the Eternia Glass and disappear, wrecking the fabric of time while he is at it. Once that is done, Father Time with finally wither away to nothing and I will be able to come in and do as I please. I won't go small this time, though. I am taking all of the power of time. I can make it so you were never born. I can make it so the guardians never found jack. I can even make it so you were all trained by me and make you join me, willingly, with my Warriors."

"Like we would ever let something like that happen!" Jack tightened his grip on his staff as frost started to form on the ground beneath his feet. "And there is no way that Tai would just sit back and let Trii do something like this!"

"Ah!" Pitch said, holding up a finger. "But there is one time every year when he is most distracted; when he can barely stand to move an inch." Pitch sat back, a throne of shadows forming for him. "It is quite hard to do anything when one is dying. Happy New Year."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the next story in this series done, but it does have a lot of Trii Korteet in it. It would be great if I could get some reader's opinions on him. Please leave a comment telling me your thoughts on his character.


	10. The Eternia Glass

A withered old man lay in a bed made of shifting golden sand. He breathed deeply, obviously fighting for each breath that he managed to take. His paper thin skin was wrinkled and pulled taunt against his feeble bones.

Trii was about to leave when something adjacent to the man caught his eyes. Upon a silver pedestal was some sort of orb. It was glowing faintly and was completely transparent. Swarms of white sand shifted around inside the glass, but Trii for some reason couldn't tell if it was floating up or falling down.

"Trii Korteet," the withered man gasped out. "I feared that you would come, though I knew it was going to happen."

"W-Who are you?" Trii asked, tenitively drawing near, his eyes darting from the orb to the man in the bed.

"I am Tai M. Keeper," the man responded, coughing into his shoulder, for he had not the strength to lift his hand. "I am Grandfather Time and this is my Temple."

"Pitch didn't say that you would be..." Trii bit his lip and allowed his words to trail off.

"It is the end of the year and, thus, I must go through this again," Tai explained. "Every New Year's Eve, I must die so that the next year, and the next Grandfather Time, can come to be. It is the circle of my life." Tai sighed heavily. "That is the Eternia Glass that you were sent for but I warn you, you don't know what you are getting yourself into."

Trii scowled. "Pitch told me that you would say that. He told me that you would try to stop our mission. Well it isn't going to work! We have spent enough time hiding in the shadows and being hated. It is our time to shine."

"I will not stop you, Trii Korteet," Tai stated. "I cannot stop you. But I will warn you that nothing good will come from this. You will suffer pain unimaginable."

Trii nibbled at his bottom lip, turning his eyes away from both Tai and the Eternia Glass. He said nothing as he did so.

"Trii!" a familiar voice shouted. Jack skidded to a stop just outside the door, grasping the doorway to stop himself from going past it. "Don't do it, Trii!"

"Jack?" Trii smiled slightly. "You came."

"You need to stop this, Trii," Jack said, entering the room. "Pitch doesn't care about you at all. If you touch that glass, you will disappear forever. He is using that to take the Guardians down."

Trii's smile dropped. "You are lying to me," he insisted. "Just like you lied to me before!"

Jack shook his head. "No, Trii. I didn't want to lie to you, but you don't realize that you are on the wrong side here."

"No! You don't understand!" Trii stepped back as Jack drew closer. "You were once just like us, but now that time means nothing to you just because you are a part of those Guardians."

"Trii, just calm down. You were lied to by Pith," Jack said. "Pitch lies. That is what he does." Jack took a few tentative steps closer.

"Stay back!" Trii reached into his "Trick" bag on his hip and pulled out a pumpkin bag. "If you get any closer to me, I will throw this."

Jack stopped, holding up his hands. "Calm down. You don't want to do anything drastic."

Trii's eyebrows scrunched up. "Why are you still with them, Jack?" Trii tightened his grip on the pumpkin bag. "You saw the memory. Pitch told me how they killed you. The Guardians killed you!"

"They had to!" Jack shouted back.

"Don't you lie to me again, Jack!" Trii raised the bag higher. "I can tell that you don't even fully believe your own words. They took your life, Jack. Not just your life  _life_ , but you entire life. You had a chance to be with your family and friends. Yu were loved and they took that away from you!"

"Shut up!" Jack screeched, stomping his foot down.  Ice formed on the floor and traveled throughout the room. Trii took a step back, finding immediately that his foot now lacked friction. 

"Ah!" Trii landed on his back and slid towards Jack's legs, knocking him over.

_BOOM!_


	11. On The Edge

Crumbling chunks of wall flew through the air, powered by the blast from the bomb. Jack lifted his staff above his head, knocking aside any stray pieces that came towards him as he slid outside. Thanks to the snow covering the ground ad force from the blast, Jack found himself sliding further and further away from the temple and closer and closer to the edge of the mountain they were on. Jack stabbed his staff into the ground, slowing down his decent until it came to a complete stop. Pieces of rumble slid pass him and fell right off of the mountain, falling into the abyss below.

"AH!" Trii shouted, scrambling to hold onto the edge of the mountain, dangling off the side. Releasing one hand, he reached into his "Treat" bag. He pulled out a large wad of bubblegum and shoved it in his mouth, chewing it rapidly as he tried to drag himself up a little more. Seeing as that wasn't getting him anywhere, he spit out the gum into his hand. "Extreme-Stick, don't fail me now!" He smacked the gum in his hand onto a part of the mountain not covered by snow. His grip with the other hand gave way and he found himself freefalling.

The gum stretched, its magically qualities holding him in place for a split second before snapping back up and shooting him over the edge again. Finding himself safe, he took in deep breathes of air as his heart pounded away in his chest.

_Clink._

Trii glanced up, spotting the Eternia Glass rolling to a sop in front of him. With his gummed hand, he picked it up. He was careful not to let his flesh directly touch it, for Tai's warning was still fresh in his mind, ringing ever so clearly.

"Trii!" Jack shouted, using the wind to carry him onto a soft spot on the ledge. "Be careful! Back away from the ledge slowly."

"That's right, Trii." Pitch appeared, causing both to jump in surprise. "One misstep and we might very well lose you for forever." The emotions behind his words seemed genuine, but Jack knew better than to trust a crying snake.  "I told you he would want to stop you; to stop us. His friends aren't far behind, though I am distracting them with some of my nightmares for now."

"Pitch!" Trii shouted, drawing the orb closer to himself without touching it. "Is it true? Were you lying to me?"

Pitch put on his pitiful expression again. "Of course I wouldn't lie to you, Trii. I tried to stop him, I did. I only wish that I had the power to stop him before he could..."

Trii's brow scrunched as he gave Pitch his undivided attention. "Before he could do what, Pitch?"

Pitch forced tears into his eyes. He even allowed for one to trail down his cheek. He reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a chunk of bone. "I couldn't save Ribcage." He put the bone gently on the ground in front of him, treating it tenderly as Trii's eyes followed his every movement.

Trii's hand traveled up to his dark tresses, rasping them tight in his fist before letting out a heartfelt scream.

 

 


	12. Trust Me

Trii's scream finally died down into labored breathing as he fell to his knees. Thick rivets of tears streamed down his face as he released his grip on his hair in order to reach for the bone hesitantly. "Ribcage," he moaned, holding the piece tightly to his chest. He cast his eyes upon Pitch's form. "What happened? What happened to Ribcage?"

"Trii... Dear, dear Trii..." Pitch trailed of, rubbing his hands together with a heavy sigh. "When Jack Frost showed up to stop you, Ribcage tried to stop him. He charged after him in a fiery fury in order to protect you and Frost... Frost just struck him down. He ripped this bone from him and tossed it aside. He was too fast. I couldn't save him."

"That is a lie!" Jack shouted, drawing their attention back to his presence. "Don't believe him for a second, Trii. Pitch was planning on letting you die here for his own benefits! He even said so himself! When he admitted his plans, Ribcage charged him and Pitch killed him! He is to blame!"

"Preposterous!" Pitch rebutted with an offended gasp. "I have always been by your side, Trii. I took you into my Warriors so that we could all get the lives that we deserve. I have never lied to you. While he," Pitch pointed at Jack, "has betrayed you already once before, and now he stands before you and lies once again. Have you no shame, Frost?"

"I didn't want to lie to you, Trii," Jack said softly. "I care for you. You are a dear friend to me and I didn't want to see you hurt. Pitch is everything that the boogeyman should be. He can't be trusted."

"Trii."

"Trii."

"Stop," Trii muttered, shaking his head. "Stop! I don't know who to believe! Can't you see that I am grieving? Leave me alone!"

"We will give your honorable steed the proper funeral that he deserves," Pitch promised. "Once the mission is over, we can go back to our headquarters and tell the rest of the Warriors the heartbreaking news. Let his death not be in vain."

"Don't fall for his tricks, Trii." Jack took a tentative step towards the boy. "If you touch it, then you will die. Pitch wants you out of the picture. Please. Look within your heart. You know that I would never hurt Ribcage; our friend. You have always questioned Pitch thought, haven't you? Deep in your heart, you have always doubted him. There is no way someone as good as you would follow someone like him without any hint of doubt behind his actions."

"Stay back!" Trii shouted, taking another step back. "One more step and I jump off!"

Jack froze and held his hands up. "Don't do that, Trii."

"Of course you would say that, Frost," Pitch sneered. "He just doesn't want to lose the Eternia Glass. Watch out, Trii. He will try to take it from you at every opportunity."

"Then why don't you just take it now?" Trii asked, holding out the orb.

Pitch backed away. "Why don't you hold onto it a bit longer, Trii? As long as you have it, Frost can't touch you."

Trii's eyes narrowed. "The mission is to collect it and take it back to you. Take it, Pitchy. Take it from me." He took a step closer to Pitch.

Pitch smiled. "Of course, Trii. Just be careful of Frost and his violent ways." Pitch held out his hands to receive the orb and Jack held his breath in anticipation.

Suddenly, a tendril of shadows appeared to Jack's side. He lifted his staff in a fighting position, prepared to defend himself. He was surprised when the shadow ignored him completely and instead chose to throw a rather large snowball straight at Pitch. Pitch took the attack to the face, recoiling backwards as his shadows vanished.

"Trii!" Pitch shouted as he stumbled back off the edge of the cliff. He managed to latch onto a ledge a few feet down just in time. "Trii! Help!"

Trii turned to look at Jack, who was still in a fighting stance. "Jack?"

"I didn't-"

"Hold on, Pitchy!" Fell to his knees and placed Ribcage's bone in the snow beside him. He held out his free hand to Pitch. "Grab on!"

Pitch stretched one of his hands ut to him, but his fingertips didn't even come close to brushing Trii's. "I can't hold on!" he shouted back.

"Reach for me!" Trii got loser tot the edge.

"Trii, you have to use the power of the orb to reverse time. Stop Ribcage's death. Save me. Save us all." With that being said, Pitch's grip slipped and he fell.

"Pitch!" Trii shouted, still holding out his hand, as if he could still grab the shadow man. In a matter of seconds, he couldn't even see him anymore.

"You can't seriously fall for this, Trii," Jack said, creeping closer. "It is just another one of his tricks."

"You took everything!" Trii leapt to his feet and glared at Jack. "You took away my best friend, my  _only_  friend, and then Pitch. I hate you, Jack Frost. I hate you!" Trii held the orb higher. "And now I am going to do something that I should've done in the first place. Trii then brought his bare hand towards its surface.

"No!" Jack shouted. He shot out his arm and caught Trii's with the hook of his staff. He jerked it to the side, causing the orb to fly from his hand. It made impact with a rock jutting out from the snow and a sea of cracks formed. A barrage of the odd sand from the inside seeped out as the gum attached to the orb brought it right back to Trii's awaiting hands. Jack could do nothing as skin met glass.


	13. Transformation

Everything happened in a split second.

A pulsating light erupted from the orb as the wind picked up. Jack was forced to dig his staff into the earth in order to keep from toppling over. He was surprised at how well Trii was managing to stand up until he noticed that the boy seemed to be floating now, as if being held up by some sort of invisible force.

"W-What is happening?" Trii squeaked his eyes wide as more and more cracks formed on the orb in his hands.

"Isn't it obvious?" Both heads snap to the side, towards the sound of the voice. Pith smirked at them, rising up on the edge of the cliff upon tendrils of black sand. "You are doing just as you were meant to, Korteet."

"Pitch?" Trii closed his eyes tightly as his head throbbed. "W-What?"

Pitch laughed. "You really fell for every single word that I said. It was almost too easy. You are far too gullible for your own good, Korteet."

"What are you saying?" Trii groaned and curled in on the orb. "I-I don't understand."

"That is because you are a simple minded fool." Pitch smirked and came closer. "Now die."

"No," he groaned. "I can't let go of the orb. It won't let go! Someone! Help me!"

"Trii!" Jack shouted. He attempted to get closer, but was no match for the powerful wind. "Trii!"

" _Aaaahhhh!_ " Trii screamed. Chunks of glass shot off of the orb, shattering into even smaller pieces as they journeyed farther from the orb.

Pitch's expression twisted. "What did you do?" he asked. "What have you done!?"

"What is happening?" Trii got no reply as the orb exploded into a sea of sand, the glass shard flying in every other direction. The sand enveloped him, tossing him around in the air this way and that and twisting his form. His mouth was agape in a silent scream.

"You broke it!" Pitch shouted. "You ruined everything!"

Trii was able to say a thing as the sand continued to attack him. Suddenly, its particles started to stick to his form. In a matter of seconds, he was a writhing white figure.

In another few seconds, the wind died down and Trii toppled to the ground.

"Trii?" Jack crept closer to the still form, his heart pounding away in his chest. He reached out his hand to touch the boy. "Trii?"

The scream that filled the air was the most heart wrenching sound that Jack had ever heard, and probably will ever hear.

Trii laid on the ground, twitching and jerking from side to side. He clawed at the ground. The tips of his fingers dug into the snow and remained there, stretching as the rest of his hand moved. His back curved unnaturally and his legs lengthened. He kept growing until he was about three times Jack's size. The sand faded away, revealing masses of tangled black fur.

"Trii," Jack whispered, covering his mouth with one hand as he stared down at the spirit of Halloween with wide eyes.

Trii pushed himself up, having trouble with his lengthier arms. Shaking his head in an attempt to make the headache go away, Trii took in the sight of his long claws and hairy arms. He opened his jaws wide at the sight and let out an inhuman roar.

"What done me?" he growled, scratching at his animalistic face. "Me monster. Made me monster!" Trii roared again.

"You are worthless like this," Pitch said with a scowl. "You weren't supposed to survive. You were supposed to die and disrupt time."

"How can you say hat? Look what you did to him!"

"Me?" Pitch smirked at Jack. "I believe it was you who did nothing to stop him. You should have tried harder. This is all on your head, Frost. You turned him into the monster that he really is."

Jack opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted as Trii roared and leapt off of the cliff, using his new strength to quickly disappear into the distance.

"Trii!" Jack called after him, but it was too late.

And when Jack turned around, Pitch was long gone.


	14. Good-Bye, Master Time

"Jack," a voice from within the Time Palace called out weakly. Jack swiftly went to Tai's side, falling down to his knees as his held his wrinkled hand tightly in his own.

"Trii," Jack muttered, shaking his head as tears collected in his eyes. "He..."

Tai nodded his head. "I know. He was meant to disappear and wreck the fabric of time, but the orb had cracked and shattered. Instead of him releasing the true Sands of Time, he absorbed it." Tai started coughing, unable to find the strength to even lift his hand to cove his mouth.

"Don't speak if it hurts," Jack whispered, patting the other's hand gently. "Conserve your strength."

"It doesn't matter now." Tai's coughs died down. "It is the end of my time. Without the Eternia Glass, I shall not be reborn until the sands are collected again. If his is to my last breath, then let it be of use to you." Tai let his eyes wander up to the ceiling above, avoiding Jack completely. "I can see what will come next, Jack, and it is something that I hope will only be a vision and nothing more."

"What do you see?"

"Trii," Tai answered weakly, "in his new beast form. His mind is slowly fading and the creature is becoming more and more powerful. He won't be able to handle it. Trii Korteet will hold the power of time inside of him until it becomes too much. When that day comes, it will burst from his form and destroy both him and the world."

Jack bit his lower lip. "What do we do?" he asked. "How do we save the world? How do we save him?"

Tai took in a deep breath, finding such a task to be increasingly harder and harder to do by ever passing second. "You must stop Trii before the beast loses the strength to fight the power inside of him."

"And Trii?" Jack insisted again. "How do we save him?"

Tai said nothing more. He just stared at Jack with tear-filled eyes. After a moment of silence, Tai allowed his eyes to close as one of the tears escaped his eyes.

With that, Tai M. Keeper faded away.

"Jack!" North burst through the door, panting heavily. "Vhat has happened?"

Jack didn't look at him. He didn't even turn to face them as he heard the others enter the room behind North. He stared down at his hand, which now held no other. No one uttered a word as they took in the empty bed, the crumbling wall, and the Guardian of Fun's slumped position.

After what felt like an eternity to all of them, Jack rose to his feet and stepped through the hole in the wall. Standing on the edge of the cliff, he dug through the snow there, searching.

"Jack?" Tooth fluttered next to him. "What do we do now?"

Finding what he was looking for, Jack stood and stared down at the chunk of bone in his hand. "We need to find Trii," Jack finally said, "and we need to save the world... no matter the cost."

 


End file.
